Grain guide and retarder for binders



Ja.n.7, 1941. I Q M w ETAL 2,227,940

GRAIN GUIDE AND RETARDER FOR BINDERS Filed June 9, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTORS Mm/M I BY .1. I 335% A TTQRNE Y.

Patented Jan. 7, 1941 GRAIN GUIDE AND RETARDER FOR BINDERS Christian M. Kvols, Hawarden, and Frank Vogelzang, Chatsworth, Iowa Application June 9, 1939, Serial No. 278,190

8 Claims.

Our invention relates to a binder improvement. An object of our invention is to provide an attachment attachable to a automatically binder deck which will deflect the cut grain to a strictly lateral position with respect to the packing arms, needle arms, and other parts of the binding arrangement which forms the bundles.

A further object of our invention is to provide an attachment which will automatically deflect either short or long grain stalks uniformly so that all of the grain will be positioned laterally with respect to the binding arrangement so that there will be no waste of grain which otherwise, in traveling forwardly through the arrangement,

would be lost.

A further object of our invention is to provide a series of deflecting arms of varied heights arms can also which be adjusted to required heights for accommodating lighter or heavier grain, or wet grain and the like.

A further object of our invention is to provide an upper deflector deck which deck will include certain means for also deflecting the stalks to a strictly lateral position.

A further object of our invention is to provide such a deflector arrangement which can also be adjusted to accommodate different grain stalk lengths.

A further object of our invention is to provide an attachment which can be readily accommodated to standard binders and which is so arranged to cooperatively work with the needle and packer arrangement in an efficient and uniform manner.

A further object of our invention is to provide all of the foregoing features in a simple construction.

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines l-l of 2 of the arrangement,

Figure 2 is along the lines a plan and sectional view taken 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is a detailed section taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Figure 4 is an end detail,

Figure 5 is a arms,

Figure 6 is a 6-5 of Fig. 2,

forward view of the grain adjusting sectional view taken along the lines travels over the roller grain which is elevated by Figure 7 is an enlarged detail section taken along the lines 1-1 of Fig. 2, and

Figure 8 is a plan view of the upper deck.

In the usual construction of binders the grain is 5 first cut by the sickle which then falls on the horizontal belt and is carried upwardly through a pair of belts to the deck and the binding mechanism. Considerable difliculty is experienced in maintaining the grain stalks in a strictly trans- 10 verse or lateral position throughout the process, and as a result a portion of the grain travels either forwardly or angularly with respect to the lateral position. Due to this fact, the bundle tieing portions of the binder will not receive certain portions of the stalks since they are traveling substantially forwardly, and as a result a fairly high percentage of the grain is lost.

The principalobjective of our invention is to take the grain which rises to the binding platform and to straighten the grain stalks so that they lie strictly in a lateral position and so that the bundles will thereby be formed without any waste.

We have used the character It to designate the upper angularly positioned conveyor belt which II and the character l2 to represent the lower belt positioned adjacently thereto which travels over the roller l3. The conveying slats are indicated by character I l. The grain travels between these belts or at E5 and which belts communicate with the lower horizontal belt adjacent the sickle which lower belt and sickle are not shown. The idler roller is indicated by the character It.

The function of our arrangement is to take the means of the belts l0 and I2 and which passes over the roller 16 and to deflect it to a transverse position. A portion of our device comprises the upper deflector deck which is indicated. by the character I! and which includes a flat plate it! slightly spaced therefrom and between which plates is positioned the elongated adjusting rod it! (see Fig. 8) which rod is pivotally secured at 26 to a series of fins 2| which fins 2| are in turn pivotally secured at 22 to and beneath the base I8. Each of the fins 2! include the vertical deflecting portions 23 and the horizontal flat portions 24 which are pivoted as explained at 22. The pivots 2B which can be bolts or any other suitable constructions are adapted to pass within the arcuate slots 25which are formed in the base l8. The member 19 terminates in a suitable handle 26. The portions 23 of the fins (see Fig. 1) include the wider arcuate deflector portions at 21 and which can taper downwardly to the ends 23, or other preferred shapes can be employed.

A more important part of our invention, however, comprises the lower structure which will now be explained, and which includes an attachment which can be attached to the deck rail slide which is indicated by the character 28 and which includes the fins 29 which straddle the packer deck 30. This attachment includes a flat metal portion 3| which extends into the bent over portion 32 which in turn continues into the lower portion 33 which is adapted to be received beneath the lower member 29, and a pair of bolts 34 pass through the deck rail slide 28 and terminate at the nut and washer 35 with a fairly strong compression spring 36 receiving the bolt 34 and being positioned between the portions 35 and portions 33. The bolt 34 replaces the usual bolt which maintains the members 29 against the deck rail slide, so that the arrangement can be attached by simply removing these bolts and replacing with the aforesaid bolts 34 of which there are two.

Attached beneath the member 3| are a series of flat arms which are indicated by the characters 31, 33, 39, 49, 4|, 42, and 43, and as shown in their respective relation in Figures 2, 5, and 6. These arms are suitably pinned or riveted to the under side of the member 3| with certain portions at 44 adapted to provide journals for a long rod 45 which is situated between the member 3| and the upper member 29. The rod 45 includes a pair of arcuate cam portions 46 and the rod 45 terminates at the adjusting handle 41 which includes a suitable projection 48 which is adapted to be received within the openings 49 in the arcuate retaining member 50 which is attached at 5| to the member 3| and with the other end of the arcuate member 59 being attached at 52.

The arms 31, 38, 49, and 42 are considerably less in width than the arms 39, 4|, and 43, and it will be noted that the arms 31, 38, 40, and 42 at the lower portions thereof, or where they are fairly close to the member 3|, are higher at this point than the wider arms 39, 4|, and 43. This .can be clearly seen'from Fig. 6 and from Fig. 2

where the section line is taken across these arms. However, the arms 39, 4|, and 43 extend forwardly a greater distance and also upwardly a greater distance toward the termination of the same, and the arms 39, 4|, and 43 also are pitched to a greater angle toward the ends thereof with Fig. 7 illustrating more clearly how these arms increase from a relatively low angle to a greater angle at the portion 53. In other words, the angularity of the arms with respect to the horizontal increases upwardly.

The butt adjuster is indicated by the character 54 which travels over the rollers or suitable gears 55. The needle which is attached to the usual shaft is indicated by the character 55 and the packer points by the character 51 with the packer heel by the character 58, the approximate position of the same being as shown in Figures 1 and 2 with the usual slots provided in the deck 30 for accommodating the same with the further slots for the other packer arms also being shown.

Now that the structure of the device has been explained, we will explain the operation thereof. In considering first the deflector deck II, it will be noted that grain stalks traveling upwardly between the belts IG and |2, and more particularly those stalks which are more forwardly inclined, will travel substantially in the position as shown in Fig. 8 by the character 53 which can be assumed to represent a stalk of grain. It will be noted that the forward end of the stalk 59 impinges against the vertical fin 23 and is then carried to the position as shown and is then being constantly defiected in the direction of the arrow 60 toward a true lateral position so that it will fall onto the packer deck or onto the arms 31, 38, 39, 40, 4|, 42, and 43, the operation of which will soon be explained.

The slots 25 together with the rod l9 permit of any angularity of the fins 23 so that they can be accommodated to various lengths of grain, the position as shown adapted to accommodate the shorter grain wherein the angularity must be more pronounced, and at positions toward the upper ends of the slots 25 accommodating the longer grain. This can be seen from Fig. 8, since naturally the shorter stalk lengths will require a more abrupt turning action with a greater degree of angularity, whereas the longer stalks will require a'lesser angle. Other grain traveling upwardly between the belts will be accommodated by the arms attached to the member 3| the features of which will now be explained.

In Figure 2 it will be noted that the grain stalks, which are again represented by the character 59, will fall onto the series of arms mentioned heretofore. The butt adjuster 54 which travels forwardly provides the function of partially straightening the stalks since it carries the butt ends forwardly; however, the arms provided in our invention will insure a true lateral position. In examining Fig. 2 with reference to the stalk 59 which represents the long stalk, and 6|, which represents the short stalk, and in first considering the stalk 59, it will be noted that the forward end of the stalk is carried onto the arms and especially the forward end against the longest arm 43. Since the end of the arm 43 is higher than the other arms the tendency will be for the end of the stalk to be held or retarded momentarily, thereby bringing it to a lateral position so that it is then carried by the packer arms and heels therefrom to the binding arrangement. The same function will occur with respect to the shorter stalk 5| which is carried in the same manner, the increasing heights of the arms tending to retard the forward ends of the same in the same manner as explained.

Another important feature of the construction of the arms is that as shown more clearly in Fig. 6 in which the shorter bars 31, 38, 49, and 42 at a position close to the plate 3| are higher than the longer and wider bars. The reason for this is that when the shorter grain stalk 6| is carried forwardly it will be retarded more quickly at the ends thereof and then can drop onto the longer bars where they project to a higher distance than the short bars. This will prevent the ends of the shorter stalks from being jammed beneath any of the successive longer bars since, if the longer bars were at the same level at this point, the stalks would be beneath the same and would become distorted when the packer arms moved upwardly. As a result of this construction, the action is made uniform and positive. It will be noted that the needle 56 of the packing arrangement, as well as the packer arms, are positioned with respect to the bars so that the grain is moved forwardly thereby in a uniform manner, and so that the movement of successive packer arms will take the grain uniformly.

For wet grain the adjusting rod 45 is pivoted by means of the handle 4'! which, when brought upwardly to the position as shown in Fig. 4, will cause the cam portion it to press against the upper member 29 which will thereby force the fiat member upwardly, at the same time carrying all of the arms upwardly from the dotted portion as shown in Fig. 3 to the approximate position as shown. This has the effect of raising the entire series of arms which increases the retarding effect, since such increased retardation is necessary for heavi r grain since the tendency for the same would be to travel more rapidly forwardly by virtue of its increased weight. The springs. maintain the tension against the members so that they are held in fixed position, and the openings 39 permit any desired adjustment of the cam portions to regulate the height.

It will be noted that the pitch or slope of the longer blades especially increase as they progress upwardly. This accommodates the grain in a natural manner, and the gradually increasing pitch of the blades, from the first shorter blades to the longer blades or arms, thereby cause a more uniform retarding action since the stalks are supported in a gradual manner according to the lengths thereof.

It will now be seen that we have provided an attachment attachable to a binder deck which will automatically deflect the cut grain stalks to a strictly lateral position with respect to the binding portions of the binder, that we have provided means for reducing wastage of grain by virtue of this structure, that we have provided means for adjustably securing the retarding arrangement, that we have provided a pair of elements which can be used in combination or singly, and that we have provided the above features in a simple construction.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of our invention without departing from the real spirit and purpose of our invention, and it is our intention to cover by our claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

We claim as our invention:

1. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a fiat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto, said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, means for adjusting said arms to desired heights, including a rod journaled to said plate, said rod including cam portions, means for turning said cam portions against a binder deck rail slide to cause said arms tobe positioned in an adjusted fixed height.

2. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a fiat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto, said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, means for adjusting said arms to desired heights, including a rod journaled to said plate, said rod including cam portions, means for turning said cam portions against a binder deck rail slide to cause said arms to be positioned in an adjusted fixed height, tension means 'attached to said plate to resistingly maintain the same in position.

3. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a fiat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto, said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, means for adjusting said arms to desired heights, including a rod journaled to said plate, said rod including cam portions, means for turning said cam portions against a binder deck rail slide to cause said arms to be positioned in an adjusted fixed height, tension means attached to said plate to resistingly maintain the same in position, said arms including a plurality of shorter arms, and a plurality of longer arms, said shorter arms being positioned at a higher level adjacent to said plate member than said longer arms.

4. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a fiat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto,

said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, means for adjusting said arms to desired heights, including a rod journaled to said plate, said rod including cam portions, means for turning said cam portions against a binder deck rail slide to cause said arms to be positioned in an adjusted fixed height, tension means attached to said plate to resistingly maintain the same in position, said arms including a plurality of shorter arms, and a plurality of longer arms, said shorter arms being positioned at a higher level adjacent to said plate member than said longer arms, said longer arms extending upwardly to a higher level beyond said shorter arms.

5. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a flat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto, said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, an upper deflector deck attached thereabove including a plurality of angularly inclined fins extending downwardly therefrom.

6. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a fiat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto, said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, an upper deflector deck attached thereabove including a plurality of angularly inclined fins extending downwardly therefrom, means for adjustably securing said fins to desired angularity.

'7. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a deflector deck including a plurality of spaced fins angularly inclined with respect to the? transverse axis of the binding attachment of the binder, means for adjustably securing the same to desired position.

8. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a flat plate member secured to a packer deck, a plurality of spaced arms attached thereto, said arms being of a progressive height forwardly and upwardly, means for adjusting said arms to\ desired heights, including a rod journaled to said plate, said rod including cam portions, means for turning said cam portions against a binder deck rail slide to cause said arms to be positioned in an adjusted fixed height, tension means attached to said plate to resistingly maintain the same in position, said tension means including a pair of bolts attached tov said flat plate member and passing through the binder deck rail slide, nuts secured at the end of said bolts, compression springs interposed between said nuts and said deck rail slide.

CHRISTIAN M. KVOLS. FRANK VOGELZANG. 

